Anyone who has followed my work at all, will know how passionate I am about the power of portraits to make a difference. Pictures of other humans can inspire us deeply. We instinctively search for something that we recognise and - subconsciously or not - we judge ourselves based on what we see. In the best cases we can be moved into action.
With this in mind, I realised in my early fifties, that I had entered a life-stage where there were very few portraits of women my age to relate to and be inspired by. The majority of pictures of women my age seem to pander to stereotypes and clichés: Women fanning themselves, head in hands, tossing sleeplessly in bed or perhaps silver haired and stylish with a group of friends on a beach. I feel like there is a much more interesting story to tell. Middle aged women are often busier than they have ever been, working and caring for others; Looking after younger and older generations. However, in spite of their significant contributions to society, they are largely invisible in the visual media.
So, I decided to make a series of pictures that felt authentic, which I hope will give women in their middle years a chance to recognise themselves. Given that I am of that certain age, I feel well placed to train my camera and therefore people’s attention onto what it is really like to be round-about fifty and a woman. I know that women of this age are living very interesting, varied and important lives while juggling the many balls of responsibility that they hold. I know that my peers do not fit neatly into the stereotypes that I see portrayed and I want to show that.
I put out the call around Oxford for women aged round-about fifty who might want to be photographed and represent their age group and I was overwhelmed with volunteers. These were women who would not normally choose to be photographed, but wanted to do their bit to address the general feeling of being unseen and unheard.
I’m about 2/3 through the project now and I have uncovered a fantastic variety of strong and inspiring women. We have had wide-ranging conversations and I have tried to crystallise something from each one. Many of the women recognise that having got this far in life they have picked up quite a lot of experience that enables them to cope with most of the challenges they face. But many feel their skills and knowledge are not always acknowledged (and that they don’t always find it comfortable to promote themselves). Some notice an increasing feeling of invisibility and vulnerability with age. At the same time many express the sentiment “Now that I’m over fifty, what have I got to lose?”. These are women who want to be intentional about the next stage of their lives, and to make the most of the time that they have.
Whether they have had children or not, many notice that it feels like they are on an important threshold to the non-reproductive years of their lives.
Every woman who I have photographed seems to get that they are part of a cohort of women with whom they have a lot of empathy. Although, one of the frustrations mentioned was that with so many responsibilities at this stage of life it is hard to spend time with other women. As one woman put it “we are going through this together but separately”.
Menopause symptoms and hormones are on the minds of many women at this age, and some said how HRT is helping them with issues like insomnia or anxiety. Others are pursuing alternative approaches to managing the ageing process: New sports, education opportunities, job moves, nose piercing, and relationships changes.
It was interesting to hear that several of the women had no recent photographs of themselves. They had been somewhat fearful of the camera because they did not normally like what they saw. Some wanted to take part in the project so that loved ones could have a picture of them. I was particularly chuffed when one woman said: “You have somehow how got me, I recognise myself in a way I almost never do in photos”. Not everyone felt that way, and I am truly grateful to these women for making themselves feel vulnerable in front of a camera so that we can make this visual record together.
My aim for the project is to help fill that gap of authentic portraits of women in these middle years. I want the women who participated to feel proud that they are part of such a brave and powerful group of women. I also hope that future historians can look back and see an honest portrayal of women who are strong, thoughtful, vulnerable, empathetic, knowledgeable, frustrated, hormonal, stretched, rebellious, experienced, adventurous and until now, somewhat unseen.